culture awareness training

Becoming aware of our cultural dynamics is a difficult task because culture is not conscious to us. Since we are born we have learned to see and do things at an unconscious level. Our experiences, our values and our cultural background lead us to see and do things in a certain way. Sometimes we have to step outside of our cultural boundaries in order to realise the impact that our culture has on our behaviour. It is very helpful to gather feedback from foreign colleagues on our behavior to get more clarity on our cultural traits.

Our Culture Awareness Training provides an understanding of the different cultural rules and behaviours that exist in New Zealand. You learn how we react to these differences and how to avoid misunderstandings to improve business and personal success.

Census – Major ethnic groups in New Zealand, found at http://www.stats.govt.nz

CULTURE AWARENESS TRAINING

COURSE CONTENT

All our Culture Awareness Training courses are designed to meet the needs of our clients depending on their specific requirements and existing skills set. A Culture Awareness Training course typically includes:

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Our Culture Awareness Training New Zealand course will be of benefit if you:

Your organisation is growing its business beyond national borders

You and your staff are increasingly working with colleagues in other countries

Your staff is becoming more culturally diverse

You are involved in multinational projects and programmes

CULTURE AWARENESS TRAINING

COURSE DETAILS

Cultural Awareness training provides an understanding of the different cultural rules and behaviors that exist, how we react to these differences and how to avoid misunderstandings to improve business and personal success. Cultural Awareness is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions.

WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is a notoriously difficult term to define. ‘Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioural conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member’s behaviour and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behaviour.

It is of paramount importance that we detect and understand the cultural differences and consequently remember the fact that, due to them, there is no “one best way of managing” organisations. – Fons Trompenaars

CULTURE IS LIKE AN ICEBERG

CULTURE is often compared to an iceberg which has both visible (on the surface) and invisible (below the surface) parts. Difficulties arise when the rules of one culture are applied to interpret the behaviour of another with a different set of cultural rules. Failure to understand and recognize these parts of culture and the layers that compose them, as well as how they influence each other is the main reason misunderstandings occur when doing business internationally.

Awareness of range of feelings in a new environment can motivate us to learn intercultural competence skills.

CULTURE GIVES CONTEXT & MEANING

Cultural awareness becomes central when we have to interact with people from other cultures. People see, interpret and evaluate things in a different ways. What is considered an appropriate behavior in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another one. Misunderstandings arise when I use my meanings to make sense of your reality.

Cultural Awareness is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions. – Stephanie Quappe

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

When you step into a foreign culture, suddenly things seem different. You don’t know what to do or say. Learning about the Intercultural Communication as a starting point, you can evaluate your approach, your decisions, and actions based on a general sense of how the society might think and react to you.

Intercultural communication refers to communication between people who have different cultural beliefs, values or ways of behaving. – De Vito

TROUBLE ACROSS CULTURES

Hofstede makes the important point that although certain aspects of culture are physically visible, their meaning is invisible: ‘their cultural meaning … lies precisely and only in the way these practices are interpreted by the insiders.’ For example, a gesture such as the ‘ring gesture’ (thumb and forefinger touching) may be interpreted as conveying agreement, approval or acceptance in the USA, the UK and Canada, but as an insult or obscene gesture in several Mediterranean countries.

Saying that “people are people” is a common trap, even when it reduces the discomfort of dealing with difference.

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

The basic requirements for intercultural competence are empathy, an understanding of other people’s behaviors and ways of thinking, and the ability to express one’s own way of thinking. It is a balance, situatively adapted, among four parts: knowledge – about other cultures, people, nations, behaviours and Cultural identity – knowledge about one’s own culture; empathy – understanding feelings and needs of other people and self-confidence.

However different our individual perspectives are, all of them could be also a source of creativity and innovation, when we learn a communicative process that creates a higher affinity and insight beyond the separation.

TRAINING METHODS

Our training consists of different sessions combining short lectures and practical exercises and involves a great deal of interaction. Simulations and team exercises aim to not only identify, but to fully understand the key differences in cultural behaviour.

This allows the participant to apply the new knowledge and skills immediately.

Theoretical short lectures and multimedia presentation

Communication exercises. We learn how to improve cross-cultural communication.

Case studies – based on specific culture. A case study is a description of a realistic situation including sufficient detail of the perspectives of the different characters to make it possible for the participants in a training program to analyse the problems involved and to determine possible solutions.

Simulation of real situations – participants will take over the different roles. Simulation games and role plays. The major and most appropriate purpose of a role play is skill building. It is a training activity where participants take on characteristics of people other than themselves in order to learn how to interact in specific situations with members of a specific culture.

Interactive video exercises (viewing recorded situations at work and analysing the different approaches

OUR INTERCULTURAL APPROACH

Our Culture Awareness Training is a In-House Training available seven days a week, 365 days a year at your offices in any location worldwide. We usually recommend a one or two day course but can also offer a more flexible format to suit your schedule.

The training needs assessment helps us find common training programs for your group of employees. The identification of training needs is the first step in a uniform method of instructional design. We suggest to perform the assessment in form of Personal Analysis. We will start to get to know our participants and their learning needs by sending them a short questionnaire before the start of the training. However the Organizational Analysis, in form of consultation with persons in key positions, and/or with specific knowledge could be also conducted via video conferences or done by phone call, if desirable.

We would like to provide participants with the reading materials to prepare themselves for the training taught in the course. The pre-training-material may include introduction letter to the training approach and objectives, some informations about our methods and rules, and recommended books and readings. In addition, we suggest the participants to get familiar with some cross cultural tools available online.

Suitably tailored training materials will be provided and your trainer will provide a balance of structured input and discussion of case studies, critical incidents and scenarios relevant to your own particular context. The most appropriate training format, content and approach for your Intercultural Training course will be discussed during your diagnostic consultancy.